The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced new regulations that could see self-driving cars take the road as soon as next June, but critics of the regulations worry that the safety requirements still aren't quite all there.
Road Show explains that the new regulations, which you can read in full here, center around autonomous car testing, requiring car manufacturers to provide the DMV with proof that they've already tested their self-driving technology in closed, controlled conditions. On top of that, they have to show that the cars know how to react to certain unexpected conditions.
When it comes to verifying safety, though, that responsibility is left to the federal government, as companies have to prove that their cars still meet the same federal safety guidelines that are required of any automobile. That's a major problem, according to Consumer Watchdog's John Simpson, who told the L.A. Times that there actually aren't any federal guidelines regarding autonomous vehicle safety. In a statement, he wrote, "The new California DMV proposal wrongly relies on the federal government, when there are absolutely no Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards applying specifically to autonomous vehicle technology. Under the Trump administration approach, automakers can glance at the [federal] policy and say, ‘That’s nice,’ and then do whatever they want as they use our roads as private laboratories and threaten highway safety."
That said, the San Francisco Business Times reports that there are already 42 companies testing autonomous vehicles in other states, such as Arizona and Florida. According to them, those companies include "big auto makers like Ford (NYSE: F), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Toyota, as well as tech companies including Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Tesla (TSLA) and Intel (INTC)."
Earlier this month, Google's autonomous car branch Waymo made some big promises as they said that they have plans to introduce self-driving cars without drivers behind the wheel as early as this fall. Back in May, they teamed up with Lyft, in an attempt to get a leg up on other rival ride-share companies also testing autonomous cars (i.e. Uber).
Previously, one Uber self-driving test vehicle in Arizona made headlines when it flipped over after another car collided into it and that one did have a driver at the wheel. As well, a Cornell University Library report said that self-driving cars are easy to fool with stickers, spray paint, and other simple measures.
If the state of California were to approve these regulations, it may very well place California back ahead of other states in the autonomous car-testing race. As of right now though, the regulations are open for public comment for the next 15 days, and if approved, could herald that major shift that car companies are looking for.
Related: Waymo Very Close To Launching Self-Driving Cars Without Humans Behind Wheel